A New Lensbaby Optic!

I started beta testing a new Lensbaby Optic a few days after Christmas, and from the moment I started using it, I was hooked! It's been so hard to keep it a secret! The Sweet 35 optic is the first optic Lensbaby has created with an internal, adjustable aperture system and it's amazing!  All you need to do is rotate the dial on the front of the optic to change the aperture from f/2.5 through f/22.  You can easily see the size of your sweet spot of focus change right through the lens, no more changing magnetic aperture disks!  This is wonderful for fine tuning the sweet spot of focus, and getting just the right amount of blur in your photos. I like to work my subjects, so being able to shoot with different apertures so effortlessly is definitely an improvement in my workflow.

Though this optic isn't compatible with the Macro Kit (my favorite Lensbaby accessory), I found that I could get quite close to my subjects, about 7 inches away with my Composer lens and as little as 3-4 inches away with my Muse.  The 35mm focal length is also a change, and I found the wider view quite versatile for lots of different subjects. The optic is also compatible with the Lensbaby Scout and Control Freak models.

Here are some of the test images I made with the Muse:

Just when I think I couldn't love my Lensbabies more, they come out with something even better. I can definitely recommend adding this optic to your Lensbaby gear!


Happy Shooting,
Kathleen